


Study Date

by merycula (thanksillpass)



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-21
Updated: 2014-03-21
Packaged: 2018-01-16 12:07:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1346884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thanksillpass/pseuds/merycula
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jean is a serious student but his focus is disrupted by a boy with a death wish.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Study Date

**Author's Note:**

  * For [icarusforgotten](https://archiveofourown.org/users/icarusforgotten/gifts).



Jean was a simple guy with the ambition of being the top of his year and a healthy if hopeless crush on the prettiest girl on campus. He spent most of his time studying or fighting with his roommate. During class, he took notes furiously and answered all the questions correctly. The professors loved him, the fellow students envied him; his social life was limited to his study group. He didn’t care about any of that. As someone on a scholarship, he needed to have his priorities straight.

“I’m sorry, professor Levi, but what you just said is not true.”

Murmurs spread among the students like wildfire. Even Jean had to look up from his notes to see the man with a death wish with his own eyes. He couldn’t pinpoint the person who questioned professor Levi so he listened in on others, hoping they recognized him.

“Is he completely insane?”

“No one talks back to Levi!”

“I heard he beat up a student once. In the dean’s office!”

Of course, useless like always; bunch of gossiping half-brains. Jean zeroed in on professor Levi to see who was he narrowing his eyes at. He gulped, thinking for a second it was him, but then he realized it was someone behind him.

“Oh?” Levi hummed. “Care to elaborate on that theory? Mr…?”

“Bott. I don’t mean any disrespect, it’s just that the  _latest_  research clearly shows-”

Jean tuned out the voice. Bott. Bott. He had heard that name somewhere. Didn’t one of the girls in his study group mention someone from the swimming team with that name? He almost slapped himself for zoning out in the middle of a lecture over some random guy before focusing back on Levi.

“I see,” said Levi finally. “However, we don’t teach speculations here. We teach facts. But rest assured that I am not going to ignore your… suggestion. You just got the entire class a paper on your  _latest research_ due Friday.”

Everyone groaned in disbelief and Jean took the opportunity to turn around and look at the culprit. He was grinning, scratching his head in embarrassment. Tall, dark, freckled – that was what Jean was able to determine before brown eyes landed on him and the boy shot him an apologetic smile. Jean turned away abruptly almost snapping his neck in half to hide the sudden blush that covered his cheeks. The hell?

* * *

 

It turned out that Marco Bott was in almost every class that Jean was. It would be embarrassing for Jean that he hadn’t noticed before but he wasn’t attending lectures for social reasons – it wasn’t that unusual to pay attention _only_ to professors, was it? Besides, school had started three months ago, and the kid only decided to speak up _now_. anyway, it wasn’t like Jean cared, right? He had better things to do than think about Marco Polo over there with all his latest discoveries and opinions and _freckles_.

Damn everything. It was so like Jean to move from one hopeless crush to another. It was easy with Mikasa even if she practically lived in his room, because she literally didn’t see anything except Eren and even Jean could take a hint like that. But crushing on Marco Bott was problematic for at least two reasons. First of all, he was a guy which greatly lessened the chances of it working out. And secondly, it _could_ work out. That was terrifying because Jean didn’t know what to do about it. Mikasa was so conveniently unattainable that Jean never really _tried_. Did he even know how to try? What if he messed up?

But it was really getting too difficult to focus on anything else than Marco. It was like a disease he needed to treat, like a thorn in his eye he needed to rip out no matter how painful it was going to be. Maybe rejection would fix him once and for all. He nodded to himself and walked over to Marco, who was miraculously sitting alone by the table in the back of the library. He cleared his throat and Marco looked up, offering him a questioning smile.

“You’re smart,” blurted out Jean and immediately winced. He should just kill himself or at least walk away.

But Marco simply laughed that good-natured laugh of his that sounded like fairy bells or some shit to Jean’s ears and thanked him sincerely. There was still hope.

“Study with me.” And there goes his hope. Was he raised in a barn?! His mother would cry if she saw this.

“Uh…”

“I mean, join my study group. I don’t think many other groups would welcome you with open arms after your stunt in Levi’s class.”

Marco blinked slowly. Great going, Jean – the way to a man’s heart are insults. He gritted his teeth and looked away, preparing himself for rejection.

“Um, thank you for the offer. I would love to.”

* * *

 

Unsurprisingly, Marco fit well in their group. Really, when he wasn’t getting everyone extra homework, he was an angel – kind, well-mannered, polite, open and helpful. Compared to him, Jean was as bitter as his own grandmother who never got invited for Thanksgiving and as useless as Eren outside of the football field. Jean had no idea how he would survive their next study session with just the two of them, because everyone else suddenly decided that some concert was more important. With no one else there to _hide_ him before Marco, things could get ugly pretty fast.

“Hey, freckles, study date tonight, the rest of the gang is on a concert.”

God, why was so he so rude when he was nervous. Why did he call it a study date? Why couldn’t he even look the guy in the eye? He was starting to think that Eren was right and he was a loser who would die a virgin.

“Oh. Well, then maybe we should move the party to the dorms? Get some take out and have an ounce of fun they're having?”

“I said study date, not date.”

Maybe he should go to therapy? Surely there was someone who treated compulsive rudeness; he wanted the earth to open up and swallow him whole.

“I know,” said Marco with a small smile.

Jean wanted to cry. “My roommate is annoying and maybe banging his girlfriend as we speak,” he muttered awkwardly. “Your room?”

Marco smiled brightly and his eyes lit up like a frigging Christmas tree and Jean was surprised he was still standing. He had it so bad he didn’t even feel sorry for himself – that’s how pathetic it was; completely beyond repair. He followed Marco to his room and thought a lot about dissecting frogs to avoid thinking about the fact he would soon sit on Marco’s bed.

“Italian or Chinese?” asked Marco as he opened the door.

“Huh?”

“What do you want to eat?”

You. Maybe it wasn’t too late to run away. Or maybe he could just throw himself out of the window. It was definitely better than looking at Marco with glazed eyes and counting his damn freckles. Suddenly, Marco sighed and dropped his bag on one of the beds before turning back to Jean and stepping into his personal space.

“You know, I’m kind of sick of it,” he said.

Oh God, he hated him and he was going to hit him or something. Jean knew it wasn’t possible to be that perfect. Marco was secretly a Francophobe and was going to chop Jean into a tiny piece he would keep in his miniature fridge.

“Let’s just make it a regular date, okay?”

Huh? Jean blinked slowly and opened his mouth to possibly say something really stupid and insulting as usual, but then Marco’s lips were on his and Jean was saved from the embarrassment. Until, of course, a pathetic needy whimper escaped him and Marco had to hold him down so Jean wouldn’t jump off that damned window.


End file.
